Oct. 24, 2013

Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen in 2011. / Associated Press

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Posted by Brian Manzullo

Detroit Free Press Sports Writer

Ozzie Guillen’s name isn’t coming up very often as a potential managerial candidate for the Detroit Tigers.

But that isn’t stopping some, including his bench coach during a 2005 World Series run with the Chicago White Sox, from saying he’d be a good fit as Jim Leyland’s successor.

Joey Cora, now an MLB Network analyst, worked with Guillen as an assistant with the White Sox and later with the 2012 Miami Marlins. And he says Guillen, despite his outspoken, fiery reputation, would win as manager in Detroit.

"Everybody would love to play for Ozzie there,” Cora told WDFN The Fan’s Matt Shepard. “He's going to let them play. ... The thing that Ozzie would do, he would take a lot of pressure off those guys. Because, obviously, what he did in Chicago... when the the team was struggling, he'd do something people would say, ‘oh crazy!’

“That's part of his charm.”

Guillen, who played in the majors from 1985-2000, managed the White Sox from 2004-11, becoming the first Latino manager to win the World Series in 2005. He became manager of the Miami Marlins in 2012, but was released after a tumultuous 69-93 season in which he was suspended five games after controversial comments he made regarding Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.

It’s true the next Tigers manager will have to deal with pressure. Detroit is coming off three consecutive AL Central titles, a World Series berth in 2012 and three consecutive appearances in the ALCS.

And while the team has bullpen issues to deal with, plus free agents in Omar Infante and Joaquin Benoit (among others), Cora says they’ll be the World Series favorites yet again in 2014.

“Whoever’s is going to manage next year is going to win,” Cora said. “They’ll be the favorites to win the Central easily. I think they’ll be the favorites to win the World Series, no matter who’s going to be the manager.”

Cora said the Tigers don’t necessarily need a big change at manager, so it’s possible the Tigers could promote form within and go with McClendon or bench coach Gene Lamont.

“This team is ready to win,” Cora said. “They know each other, the reason they didn’t win was because of a couple mistakes on the bases, and definitely because (Miguel) Cabrera wasn’t 100%. But it wasn’t a matter or coaching or manager.”

Note: Ken Rosenthal of foxsports.com says Los Angeles Dodgers third-base coach Tim Wallach “could be a candidate for the Tigers’ opening; he played for Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski in Montreal from 1988 to ’91.”

Rosenthal reports sources say Wallach would have been the Dodgers’ manager in June when Don Mattingly’s job was in jeopardy.